"Community currencies", with Edgar Kampers

Human Habitat Lecture, 30th June, 18h30

The euros we use are essentially a choice of governments. Money is created by comercial banques through debt and this system relies on interest to repay the issued money in the first place.

As man made money it can be reinvented to positively influence relations in the social, environmental and economic domain, to better serve our individual and collective needs. A community currency shares elements from the euro, loyalty points and the sharing economy. Community currencies exist next to euros and other currencies.

This is the Edgar Kamper’s thesis, specialist in community currencies and the guest speaker for the next Human Habitat Lecture.

Kampers is director and co-founder of Qoin, an agency that supports community currencies that connect the aims of public institutions, businesses and people.

Defining community currencies, Qoin aims to build a resilient regional economy and strengthen businesses, raise liveability in neighbourhoods and villages, deliver better quality of social and informal care and reduce carbon footprint as well as water use and other essentials.

With a vast experience in community currencies, Kampers is specialised in sustainable economic development, corporate social responsibility and changing consumer behaviour. He worked as Director of Nu-spaarpas, an experimental incentive programme for sustainable purchasing behaviour by consumers, researcher at Social Trade Organisation, in Netherlands and was manager of the Climate and Economy team at Stichting Natuur en Milieu, a Dutch environmental organisation. He is regularly invited to present his knowledge and expertise at conferences, workshops and symposia.